Silence
by TheNewIdea
Summary: It was beautiful for a moment to not think, to not speak, and only exist for the sake of existing. They have been instructed not to speak, only to feel and express thoughts through simple gestures. Rated M for vivid descriptions, drama and "cruel and unusual punishment".


Silence

There was nothing. Not a single sound could be heard, if you dropped a pin it would've sounded like a wrecking ball destroying a building. It would've had the same effect too, for this silence was one of peace, it was one of serenity and one of happiness. It was beautiful for a moment to not think, to not speak, and only exist for the sake of existing.

The room was a large white room full of people. In the middle of the room sat Pluto, who simply looked out in front of him and did nothing. To his right was Iago, who was hanging his head solemnly, the only thing that he allowed himself to do was breathe.

Suddenly and without warning the people in the room began filing out, leaving only Pluto and Iago. They have been instructed not to speak, only feel and express thoughts through simple gestures. Both of them turned towards each other and began the process by bowing their heads respectively. At that moment two assistants dressed in blue uniforms appeared and presented them each with a series of images, all of them having some kind of personal connection to both of them.

When this was done, Iago gently hovered above the ground and quickly landed, his gaze never breaking off of Pluto. At the same time if you looked close enough, a single tear could be seen coming down Iago's cheek. Iago only hovered for three seconds until he collapsed to the ground in pain, the bird having lost the ability to fly due to extensive injuries on his back and wings. Iago remembered how all of this had happened as if it were yesterday.

Pluto could see the pain that Iago was in, reminding him of his own troubles. Pluto's situation, according to him, was emotional instead of physical, for he had recently lost his brother and had been estranged from Mickey for close to two months. In addition to this, Pluto was also an expectant father and without having any source of income or even so much as a house for shelter, Pluto was in the moral dilemma of leaving his family and striking out on his own in order to provide or stay with his family and slowly starve and/or freeze to death, whichever came first.

Iago, who was still lying on the ground in pain, stared at Pluto and saw the reality of Pluto's situation. Everything that Pluto carried was in his body language. His shoulders drooped down, his eyes were tired and the bags underneath of them were just as expressive, they were bags of pain, bags that carried the responsibility of feeding a family that was impossible to feed because Pluto didn't have a job and bags that at the same time had the burden of watching them slowly die. The worst part about Pluto was his torso. His ribs could be seen clearly, a result of severe starvation and self sacrifice for his family when he did find food. Iago found it amazing that Pluto was even alive, it felt like if a second more went by then Iago would see Pluto lying dead on the floor.

Pluto looked at Iago again, remembering his situation. Iago's accident left him unable to do most things, giving his self esteem a huge blow. Shortly after Iago quit Disney, he now worked as a general store manager. The bird suffered frequent bouts of depression and had contemplated suicide on more than one occasion; his last attempt was close to succeeding.

Pluto stared at Iago's wings; they were clipped and barely even considered wings. Iago's back, which was visible from Pluto's position had a large cut going all the way down the middle of it, several stitches could be seen. Iago's beak was bent slightly to the right; some of the feathers on his face and stomach were completely gone, only pink patches could be seen.

Iago tried with great difficulty to stand, Pluto had been instructed not to help Iago in any direct way, and Iago had been given the same instructions. Iago collapsed once again, making Pluto's heart break, but still did nothing. Iago finally stood up and walked over to the corner of the room where a platter of food and a glass of water was located. Iago was to fly over to Pluto and bring him the food without dropping anything; Pluto was to give him encouragement through sign language or clapping only.

Iago sighed deeply and carefully hovered above the ground to grab the platter with his talons. Already he was straining, tears of pain were flowing like waterfalls from his eyes. To Iago it was like his body was being ripped apart violently on the inside, his back began bleeding, the stitches coming undone. The assistants appeared in the room but remained by the door, not to intervene unless it had gotten to a life or death situation. Pluto's legs started to shake as he too began crying in pain, dying the slow painful death of starvation. One of the assistants had an IV pole, full of fluids that would keep the dog alive, walking over to Pluto; the assistant stuck the IV inside Pluto's forearm and stood next to him, saying nothing.

Iago hovered down to the ground; the pain was too much for him to continue. The second assistant took the cue and picked Iago up and walked out of the room. Pluto remained where he was next to his assistant, simply allowing himself to breathe.


End file.
